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Meenmutty Falls

Physical involvement adds a unique charm to a tour.  Meenmutty Falls in Wayanad, Kerala, involves you physically because you can ascend the hill keeping the falls in view all the time. It’s not a difficult climb at all.  Half an hour and a little effort.  The rocks are slippery in some places but there is a rope to support you. Here are some pictures from our climb on 1 Nov 2016.  Meenmutty Falls The climb is not really tough Almost there! Crystal clear marvels entice you all along Sense of Achievement Time for a selfie Lest we forget the trail There we are! The landscape that cradles the falls It was a cloudy evening with a mild drizzle Wayanad has a pristine beauty.  You won't fail to notice that there is not a speck of waste thrown anywhere on the way.  No plastic, no wrappers, no bottles, nothing but nature and its enticing beauty.  The people of the place have opened up their lands for parking areas.  Tourism will be a b

Forest of Longings

Nisargadhama's longings Nisargadhama forest is one of the tourist attractions in Kodagu, Karnataka. It is an island formed by the river Kaveri.  What you see everywhere on this 64-acre island are bamboos.  There are also some sandalwood and teak trees.  As you walk along the mud track, some deer will gaze at you with a strange longing in their eyes.  Their gaze looks plaintive.  You enter this forest through a narrow hanging bridge which raises your hopes if not dreams.  You walk along chasing those hopes or dreams.  Bamboos blink at you everywhere. An air of desolation overwhelms you slowly.  You long for something more than bamboos.  More than the wistfulness in the doleful eyes of the deer. One of the many huts on the way For a change you can choose an elephant ride.  Or maybe look out for a peacock.  The easiest diversion will be the elevated huts.  Climb up and then climb down.  Back on the mud track, philosophise about life’s inevitable ups and downs.

Monks and Exiles

Entrance to Namdroling Monastery Bylakuppe near Kodagu in Karnataka is a little Tibet.  In 1960, the government of Mysore (now Karnataka) allotted about 3000 acres of land to the Tibetan refugees.  Today nearly 70,000 people of Tibetan origin live in that place which attracts a lot of tourists. The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery is one of the attractions.  Established in 1963 by Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche, the monastery educates hundreds of monks who graduate after a ten-year course which includes a three-year period of spiritual retreat.  Inside the Golden Temple The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.  It is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into old Tibetan language carried out in the 8 th century CE.  The Tibetan alphabet and grammar were created just for this endeavour, according to certain traditions. One of the plaques inside the Golden Temple attached to the monastery say